# On the varied origins of up-bending breaks in galaxy disks

## TL;DR

This study investigates the origins of up-bending (Type III) breaks in galaxy disks, revealing that many are caused by environmental effects like tidal disturbances and galaxy harassment, challenging their classification as physical disk features.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a new, unbiased break-finding algorithm and classifies the origins of Type III breaks, linking them to environmental influences and morphological asymmetries.

## Key findings

- Over half of Type III breaks are due to morphological asymmetry.
- Type III breaks related to spiral arms often have hidden Type II breaks.
- High-density environments correlate with asymmetry-induced Type III breaks.

## Abstract

Aims: Using a sample of 175 low-inclination galaxies from the S$^{4}$G, we investigate the origins of up-bending (Type III) breaks in the 3.6 $\mu$m surface brightness profiles of disk galaxies. Methods: We re-analyze a sample of previously identified Type III disk break-hosting galaxies using a new, unbiased break-finding algorithm, which uncovered many new, sometimes subtle disk breaks across the whole sample. We classify each break by its likely origin through close examination of the galaxy images across wavelengths, and compare samples of galaxies separated by their outermost identified break types in terms of their stellar populations and local environments. Results: We find that more than half of the confirmed Type III breaks in our sample can be attributed to morphological asymmetry in the host galaxies. As these breaks are mostly an artifact of the azimuthal averaging process, their status as physical "breaks" is questionable. Such galaxies occupy some of the highest density environments in our sample, implying that much of this asymmetry is the result of tidal disturbance. Additionally, we find that Type III breaks related to extended spiral arms or star formation often host down-bending (Type II) breaks at larger radius which were previously unidentified. Such galaxies reside in the lowest density environments in our sample, in line with previous studies that found a lack of Type II breaks in clusters. Galaxies occupying the highest density environments most often show Type III breaks associated with outer spheroidal components. Conclusions: We find that Type III breaks in the outer disks of galaxies arise most often through environmental influence: either tidal disturbance (resulting in disk asymmetry) or heating through, e.g., galaxy harrassment (leading to spheroidal components). Galaxies hosting the latter break types also show... (abstract continues)